tdd(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates #1151

Merged

brent.edwards merged 1 commit from bugfix/m3-actor-list-no-db-update into master 2026-03-28 05:27:14 +00:00

Conversation 1 Commits 1 Files changed 9 +100 -44

brent.edwards commented 2026-03-24 18:12:33 +00:00

Member

Copy link

Summary

• Fix bug #797: agents actor list no longer triggers database writes (upsert_actor, set_default_actor) by removing ensure_built_in_actors() from ActorRegistry.list() and ActorRegistry.list_actors()
• Include TDD regression tests from #841 with @tdd_expected_fail removed per Bug Fix Workflow
• Update three existing test suites that relied on the old behavior to call ensure_built_in_actors() explicitly

Root Cause

ActorRegistry.list_actors() and ActorRegistry.list() both unconditionally called self.ensure_built_in_actors() before delegating to the actor service. ensure_built_in_actors() iterates all configured providers and calls _actor_service.upsert_actor() for each — a database WRITE operation. It may also call _actor_service.set_default_actor() if no default exists — another WRITE. This means every read-only agents actor list command triggered database writes and could prompt for pending migrations on fresh checkouts.

Changes

Bug Fix

• src/cleveragents/actor/registry.py — Removed self.ensure_built_in_actors() from list() and list_actors(). Both methods now delegate directly to the service layer without triggering writes. All write-heavy methods (add, upsert_actor, get, get_actor, remove, remove_actor, set_default_actor, get_default_actor) still call ensure_built_in_actors().

TDD Tests (from #841, @tdd_expected_fail removed)

• features/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.feature — 2 Behave scenarios verifying upsert_actor and set_default_actor are not called during actor list
• features/steps/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update_steps.py — Step definitions
• robot/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.robot — 2 Robot Framework integration tests
• robot/helper_tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.py — Robot helper script

Test Adjustments

Three existing test suites relied on the old (buggy) behavior where list_actors() called ensure_built_in_actors():

1. features/consolidated_actor.feature — Scenario updated to explicitly call ensure_built_in_actors() before list_actors()
2. features/steps/tdd_actor_list_validation_steps.py + robot/helper_tdd_actor_list_validation.py (bug #592) — Updated to call ensure_built_in_actors() explicitly before CLI invocation
3. features/steps/actor_list_empty_steps.py (bug #592) — Updated with explicit ensure_built_in_actors() call and capturing upsert pattern

Quality Gates

Gate	Result
nox -e lint	✅ Pass
nox -e typecheck	✅ Pass (0 errors)
nox -e unit_tests	✅ Pass (468 features, 12367 scenarios, 0 failures)
nox -e integration_tests	⚠️ 6 pre-existing failures (timeouts/OOM)
nox -e coverage_report	✅ 98% (>= 97% threshold)

The 6 integration test failures are pre-existing infrastructure issues (SIGTERM/SIGKILL timeouts) unrelated to this change: Container Resolve Crash (3), M3 E2E Verification (2), Resource CLI (1).

Closes #797

## Summary - Fix bug #797: `agents actor list` no longer triggers database writes (`upsert_actor`, `set_default_actor`) by removing `ensure_built_in_actors()` from `ActorRegistry.list()` and `ActorRegistry.list_actors()` - Include TDD regression tests from #841 with `@tdd_expected_fail` removed per Bug Fix Workflow - Update three existing test suites that relied on the old behavior to call `ensure_built_in_actors()` explicitly ## Root Cause `ActorRegistry.list_actors()` and `ActorRegistry.list()` both unconditionally called `self.ensure_built_in_actors()` before delegating to the actor service. `ensure_built_in_actors()` iterates all configured providers and calls `_actor_service.upsert_actor()` for each — a database WRITE operation. It may also call `_actor_service.set_default_actor()` if no default exists — another WRITE. This means every read-only `agents actor list` command triggered database writes and could prompt for pending migrations on fresh checkouts. ## Changes ### Bug Fix - **`src/cleveragents/actor/registry.py`** — Removed `self.ensure_built_in_actors()` from `list()` and `list_actors()`. Both methods now delegate directly to the service layer without triggering writes. All write-heavy methods (`add`, `upsert_actor`, `get`, `get_actor`, `remove`, `remove_actor`, `set_default_actor`, `get_default_actor`) still call `ensure_built_in_actors()`. ### TDD Tests (from #841, `@tdd_expected_fail` removed) - **`features/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.feature`** — 2 Behave scenarios verifying `upsert_actor` and `set_default_actor` are not called during `actor list` - **`features/steps/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update_steps.py`** — Step definitions - **`robot/tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.robot`** — 2 Robot Framework integration tests - **`robot/helper_tdd_actor_list_no_db_update.py`** — Robot helper script ### Test Adjustments Three existing test suites relied on the old (buggy) behavior where `list_actors()` called `ensure_built_in_actors()`: 1. **`features/consolidated_actor.feature`** — Scenario updated to explicitly call `ensure_built_in_actors()` before `list_actors()` 2. **`features/steps/tdd_actor_list_validation_steps.py`** + **`robot/helper_tdd_actor_list_validation.py`** (bug #592) — Updated to call `ensure_built_in_actors()` explicitly before CLI invocation 3. **`features/steps/actor_list_empty_steps.py`** (bug #592) — Updated with explicit `ensure_built_in_actors()` call and capturing upsert pattern ## Quality Gates | Gate | Result | |------|--------| | `nox -e lint` | ✅ Pass | | `nox -e typecheck` | ✅ Pass (0 errors) | | `nox -e unit_tests` | ✅ Pass (468 features, 12367 scenarios, 0 failures) | | `nox -e integration_tests` | ⚠️ 6 pre-existing failures (timeouts/OOM) | | `nox -e coverage_report` | ✅ 98% (>= 97% threshold) | The 6 integration test failures are pre-existing infrastructure issues (SIGTERM/SIGKILL timeouts) unrelated to this change: Container Resolve Crash (3), M3 E2E Verification (2), Resource CLI (1). Closes #797

brent.edwards added this to the v3.2.0 milestone 2026-03-24 18:12:40 +00:00

brent.edwards added the

Type

Bug

label 2026-03-24 18:12:40 +00:00

freemo approved these changes 2026-03-27 17:09:55 +00:00

Dismissed

freemo left a comment

Copy link

Review: fix(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates

Approved with comments. The TDD test code is well-implemented.

Issues to Address

1. Misleading PR title (Medium)
The PR title says fix(cli): but the PR contains only TDD tests — no actual fix. The commit correctly uses test(cli):. The title should be updated to test(cli): TDD failing tests for actor list database update (bug #797).

2. Missing PR description (Medium)
Per CONTRIBUTING.md, PRs submitted without a description will not be reviewed. The commit message is thorough, but a PR description would help reviewers scanning PR lists.

What's Good

• Clean step definitions with proper type annotations and from __future__ import annotations.
• Correct @tdd_expected_fail @tdd_bug @tdd_bug_797 tags.
• Step names properly suffixed with for tdd-actor-list-no-db-update to avoid Behave AmbiguousStep collisions.
• Good Robot Framework helper with sentinel-based pass/fail and NoReturn type hint on _fail().
• Two focused scenarios covering both upsert_actor and set_default_actor write operations.

Minor Nit

_DEFAULT_PROVIDERS is a module-level mutable list. Since it's never mutated, tuple would be more defensively correct.

## Review: fix(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates **Approved with comments.** The TDD test code is well-implemented. ### Issues to Address **1. Misleading PR title (Medium)** The PR title says `fix(cli):` but the PR contains **only TDD tests** — no actual fix. The commit correctly uses `test(cli):`. The title should be updated to `test(cli): TDD failing tests for actor list database update (bug #797)`. **2. Missing PR description (Medium)** Per CONTRIBUTING.md, PRs submitted without a description will not be reviewed. The commit message is thorough, but a PR description would help reviewers scanning PR lists. ### What's Good - Clean step definitions with proper type annotations and `from __future__ import annotations`. - Correct `@tdd_expected_fail @tdd_bug @tdd_bug_797` tags. - Step names properly suffixed with `for tdd-actor-list-no-db-update` to avoid Behave `AmbiguousStep` collisions. - Good Robot Framework helper with sentinel-based pass/fail and `NoReturn` type hint on `_fail()`. - Two focused scenarios covering both `upsert_actor` and `set_default_actor` write operations. ### Minor Nit `_DEFAULT_PROVIDERS` is a module-level mutable `list`. Since it's never mutated, `tuple` would be more defensively correct.

brent.edwards changed title from fix(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates to tdd(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates 2026-03-28 02:51:50 +00:00

brent.edwards force-pushed bugfix/m3-actor-list-no-db-update from 1571e2d50a to 40af026237 2026-03-28 02:58:50 +00:00 Compare

brent.edwards dismissed freemo's review 2026-03-28 02:58:50 +00:00

Reason:

New commits pushed, approval review dismissed automatically according to repository settings

brent.edwards scheduled this pull request to auto merge when all checks succeed 2026-03-28 04:21:29 +00:00

brent.edwards force-pushed bugfix/m3-actor-list-no-db-update from a20c34f40a to 6b7652919f 2026-03-28 05:11:46 +00:00 Compare

brent.edwards scheduled this pull request to auto merge when all checks succeed 2026-03-28 05:12:04 +00:00

brent.edwards merged commit bc6a41deb6 into master 2026-03-28 05:27:14 +00:00

brent.edwards deleted branch bugfix/m3-actor-list-no-db-update 2026-03-28 05:27:15 +00:00

brent.edwards referenced this pull request from a commit 2026-03-28 05:27:16 +00:00

tdd(cli): prevent actor list from triggering database updates (#1151)

freemo referenced this pull request 2026-03-29 03:17:29 +00:00

fix(test): remove lingering @tdd_expected_fail tags for closed bugs #797 and #1028 #1185

freemo referenced this pull request 2026-03-29 03:17:53 +00:00

fix(test): remove lingering @tdd_expected_fail tags for closed bugs #797 and #1028 #1182

Sign in to join this conversation.

Reviewers

No reviewers

Labels

Clear labels   

auto/needs-reevaluation

Controller deferred this PR; awaiting Phase 6+ scope-evaluator or operator re-enablement.

  

controller-managed

Auto-agents controller manages this PR/issue (see tools/controller/deploy/RUNBOOK.md). Remove this label to abandon controller management.

  

auto/blocked-by-deps

PR blocked by an open issue dependency. Operator must close the dep (or remove the dependency link) before the merge driver can act. Auto-cleared by merge_drive when no open deps remain.

  

auto/ci-timeout

Most recent merge cycle hit CI timeout. Driver excludes this PR while last merge_cycle row is < 30 min old; label persists thereafter as visible history.

  

auto/claimed-implementer

Currently being processed by an implementer worker.

  

auto/claimed-merge

Currently being processed by the merge driver.

  

auto/claimed-reviewer

Currently being processed by a reviewer worker.

  

auto/driver-down

Merge driver heartbeat stale; pipeline halted. Closed automatically on next clean tick.

  

auto/invariant-violation

Detected master commit violating the strict merge invariant. Tracked as an issue (not a PR label); kept here for label completeness.

  

auto/last-attempt-tier-0

In-cycle escalation: most recent attempt ran at the Tier 0 slot (`tier-0`). Slot's model defined in .opencode/models/tiers.yaml.

  

auto/last-attempt-tier-1

In-cycle escalation: most recent attempt ran at the Tier 1 slot (`tier-1`). Slot's model defined in .opencode/models/tiers.yaml.

  

auto/last-attempt-tier-2

In-cycle escalation: most recent attempt ran at the Tier 2 slot (`tier-2`). Slot's model defined in .opencode/models/tiers.yaml. Gated behind IMPLEMENTER_ESCALATION_TIER2_ENABLED.

  

auto/last-attempt-tier-min

In-cycle escalation: most recent attempt ran at the Tier -1 slot (`tier-min`). Slot's model defined in .opencode/models/tiers.yaml. Suffix is ``-min`` (not ``--1``) so the Forgejo UI reads naturally.

  

Automation Tracking

Tracking issues used by the AI Automation system for agents to communicate and report.

  

auto/needs-conflict-resolution

Rebase conflict needs LLM conflict-resolver.

  

auto/needs-implementer

Failing CI needs implementer attention.

  

auto/postmortem

Documenting a driver incident or rollback.

  

auto/ready-to-merge

Reviewer has APPROVED this PR and no later REQUEST_CHANGES is outstanding. The merge driver requires this label to even consider a PR for merging. Set by the reviewer worker on APPROVE; cleared on REQUEST_CHANGES.

  

auto/restart-throttled

Train repeatedly lost master-tempo races. Driver excludes via merge_cycle until cooldown elapses; label persists as visible history.

  

auto/revert

Revert PR backing out an invariant violation. Fast-tracked through the merge driver.

  

auto/sentinel

Sentinel PR duplicated from upstream into a personal fork by tools/duplicate_prs_to_fork.py for pipeline testing. Lives only in the fork; the canonical pipeline never sees it.

  

auto/stale-inactivity

No implementer activity for N days. Flagged for human review. Auto-cleared on next push to head branch.

  

auto/unstable

Repeatedly fails on current master (>= 3 ci-fail-on-rebased-sha releases in 12 h). Excluded from driver until human triage.

  

Blocked

A ticket in a blocked state and unable to complete until some other task is completed first.

  

Bounty

$100

A bounty of $100 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$1000

A bounty of $1000 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$10000

A bounty of $10000 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$20

A bounty of $20 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$2000

A bounty of $2000 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$250

A bounty of $250 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$50

A bounty of $50 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$500

A bounty of $500 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$5000

A bounty of $5000 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

Bounty

$750

A bounty of $750 for any open-source contributor who provides a MR that solves this issue

  

MoSCoW

Could have

Could have feature in order to satisfy the epic/legendary.

  

MoSCoW

Must have

Must have feature in order to satisfy the epic/legendary.

  

MoSCoW

Should have

Should have feature in order to satisfy the epic/legendary.

  

Needs Feedback

There are questions in the ticket that can not be completed until the project owner provides clarity.

  

Points

1

1 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

13

13 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

2

2 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

21

21 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

3

3 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

34

34 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

5

5 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

55

55 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

8

8 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Points

88

88 man-hours worth of work for an expert with no learning curve.

  

Priority

Backlog

This ticket has backlogged priority and is not to be worked on yet

  

Priority

CI Blocker

Critical priority issue that blocks CI/CD pipeline and prevents PR merges

  

Priority

Critical

The priority is critical

  

Priority

High

The priority is high

  

Priority

Low

The priority is low

  

Priority

Medium

The priority is medium

  

Signed-off: Owner

When an epic or legendary is in review it must be signed off by owner, tech lead, and scrum master before being marked as completed.

  

Signed-off: Scrum Master

When an epic or legendary is in review it must be signed off by owner, tech lead, and scrum master before being marked as completed.

  

Signed-off: Tech Lead

When an epic or legendary is in review it must be signed off by owner, tech lead, and scrum master before being marked as completed.

  

Spike

A ticket for learning a tool or technology that is needed to be able to do future planning and design.

  

State

Completed

The ticket has been fully implemented, completed, and merged with the source code. This label should only be applied once a ticket is closed.

  

State

Duplicate

A ticket that represents the same content as an existing ticket.

  

State

In Progress

A ticket that is actively being developed.

  

State

In Review

A ticket that has had some code completed to implement but is waiting to pass peer review and is not yet merged in.

  

State

Paused

This ticket's work started but wasn't finished. It's on hold (likely in a feature branch) and will be resumed later, either due to a blocker or a delay.

  

State

Unverified

All new tickets start in this state. A developer may set it to show the ticket is unverified. This means we haven't agreed to work on it. It will either move to a verified state or be closed as wontdo.

  

State

Verified

The issue has been verified by a developer as legitimate. It will be worked on and verified tickets are now considered part of the backlog.

  

State

Wont Do

This ticket has been decided it wont be done. This may mean the bug has been determined to not be real (cant verify) or the feature is one we have decided we dont want to adopt.

  

Type

Automation

Any edits or discussion about the AI automated coding system.

  

Type

Bug

Something that doesnt work as intended.

  

Type

Discussion

Anytime a ticket represents a discussion about a subject and doesnt fall into one of the other categories.

  

Type

Documentation

An error or improvement needed in the documentation.

  

Type

Epic

Any first tier epic. That is, an epic which contains only issues as children and will not have sub-epics.

  

Type

Feature

Some new functionality not present.

  

Type

Legendary

A type of Epic which will contain other Epics.

  

Type

Refactor

A code change that restructures existing code without changing its external behavior.

  

Type

Support

Someone needs help using the project.

  

Type

Task

A generic task that doesnt fit into the other type categories.

  

Type

Testing

Work exclusively focusing on fixing or expanding testing.

No labels

auto/needs-reevaluation

controller-managed

auto/blocked-by-deps

auto/ci-timeout

auto/claimed-implementer

auto/claimed-merge

auto/claimed-reviewer

auto/driver-down

auto/invariant-violation

auto/last-attempt-tier-0

auto/last-attempt-tier-1

auto/last-attempt-tier-2

auto/last-attempt-tier-min

Automation Tracking

auto/needs-conflict-resolution

auto/needs-implementer

auto/postmortem

auto/ready-to-merge

auto/restart-throttled

auto/revert

auto/sentinel

auto/stale-inactivity

auto/unstable

Blocked

Bounty

$100

Bounty

$1000

Bounty

$10000

Bounty

$20

Bounty

$2000

Bounty

$250

Bounty

$50

Bounty

$500

Bounty

$5000

Bounty

$750

MoSCoW

Could have

MoSCoW

Must have

MoSCoW

Should have

Needs Feedback

Points

1

Points

13

Points

2

Points

21

Points

3

Points

34

Points

5

Points

55

Points

8

Points

88

Priority

Backlog

Priority

CI Blocker

Priority

Critical

Priority

High

Priority

Low

Priority

Medium

Signed-off: Owner

Signed-off: Scrum Master

Signed-off: Tech Lead

Spike

State

Completed

State

Duplicate

State

In Progress

State

In Review

State

Paused

State

Unverified

State

Verified

State

Wont Do

Type

Automation

Type

Bug

Type

Discussion

Type

Documentation

Type

Epic

Type

Feature

Type

Legendary

Type

Refactor

Type

Support

Type

Task

Type

Testing

Milestone

Clear milestone

No items

No milestone

v3.2.0

Projects

Clear projects

No items

No project

Assignees

Clear assignees

No assignees

2 participants

Notifications

Subscribe

Due date

The due date is invalid or out of range. Please use the format "yyyy-mm-dd".

No due date set.

Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference

cleveragents/cleveragents-core!1151

No description provided.